Apologies if this is a duplicate or a stupid question. I did search but didn't find what I was looking for. I'm not a complete WP noob, but I am still a beginner-ish level. I'm looking at purchasing BackupBuddy but want to figure something out before I pull the trigger.

Background:
We use Dreamhost as our host for our Wordpress websites. My only WP experience is with them. Given that, I have no idea how others interact with/install/etc. WP with other host providers.

Dreamhost has a handy-dandy one-click installer for WP available via their webpanel that we have used to install our WP instances (separate, not multi-site). It automatically creates the MySQL database you need, installs WP and prompts you to set up the admin user. In my experience with WP on Dreamhost, when there is an update to WP, I get a link to update in my WP Dashboard. Not sure if this is what others experience. I have never done a "manual" install of WP.

On to my question:
If I set up a testing subdomain area and install WP using the DH one-click installer, etc. and then use BackupBuddy to Migrate that site when it's ready to it's final location will I still see and be able to use update links from the dashboard?

I may not be communicating clearly. I'm not sure to what extent DH has done anything to customize the install and update process for WP and if I will have a different experience using the Migrate feature because it is doing its own install of WP when it migrates. Does that make sense?

1. The update links in the WordPress dashboard are a part of WordPress. While I don't have Dreamhost so can't see if they have changed it from its normal methods or presentation, links prompting you click to automatically update WordPress when there is an update to it is normal in WordPress and not unique to Dreamhost. So yes, you can still use them fine and will still have them pop up regardless of having BackupBuddy or not.

2. When migrating or restoring a site the process will be same for people on Dreamhost as it is for others not on Dreamhost. Importbuddy (the name of the step wizard from BackupBuddy that does the importing of the site to a new location) installs WordPress during the migration so you won't have to worry about installing WordPress to migrate.

In fact, to migrate to a new site there needs to not already be a WordPress installation at the location being migrated to. So if WordPress is already installed where someone is migrating to then that WordPress needs removed in some way first. Then for new sites that are completely blank with no WordPress installation nothing needs done with them in regards to installing WordPress beforehand.

Thanks,
-Akers

Welcome to the forums. Be sure to post your questions in the correct forum and don't forget about the new and improved search function located in the top right of the forum pages. The gear/wheel symbol next to the search box will give you more options for advanced searching. Thank you and have a nice day.PRAISE LORD HELIX

Thank you for the response. Ok, gotcha. So the migration to location should be a clean folder with no Wordpress install to do the ImportBuddy.

I do have a followup question. Does it also automatically create a new database in the location you're migrating to? Just trying to figure if it is creating a new database and sucking in all the data from the backed up database or if it relinks the migrated wordpress instance to the previous database? Viewing the tutorial vids where you type in the database info is what prompted me to get some clarification on this. I'm thinking it can't be the latter because hey, I could be doing the migration from a local instance, etc., and the new WP site can't functionally connect to that forever, but I just want to confirm.

It doesn't automatically create a new database when migrating or restoring. The database information it asks for during the database information step is so it can set up that database to be the one the site uses and which one gets updated with all the source site's tables (tells it what database information to put in the site's wp-config.php file such as database name and all that). So creating a new database (with an associated user that has all privileges) is part of the preparation of a migration. Well, technically someone could pause after the extraction step of a migration then make the database and all but probably better to have it already made before starting.

If there is a site already at the location you are migrating/restoring to then you don't have to make a new database. There is the choice in the database information step of the migration to just use a new prefix that you know hasn't been used by that database before. Going this route then you won't have to mess with setting up a new database. Though if migrating to a brand new site that hasn't been used before so it doesn't already have a database there, then obviously would have to make one and couldn't go the prefix route.

Thanks,
-Akers

Welcome to the forums. Be sure to post your questions in the correct forum and don't forget about the new and improved search function located in the top right of the forum pages. The gear/wheel symbol next to the search box will give you more options for advanced searching. Thank you and have a nice day.PRAISE LORD HELIX

I have Backup Buddy installed on existing site that I like and want to copy to a new site.

The new site is hosted with GoDaddy, which as their own WP install program. WP is installed on the new site on GoDaddy, but it is basically a blank shell. Do I need to delete all of the WP folders or call GoDaddy and ask them to wipe everything back out?

Is it possible to just install the ImportBuddy into the root of the GoDaddy FTP Access file area and run it, so that it overwrites what is already there?

I don't mind trying to get GoDaddy to walk me through wiping everything out and starting fresh, just trying to verify if it is necessary.

Please log in with your ithemes username/password and then you can post your questions in the BackupBuddy forum. But as mentioned above, for a migrate/restore WordPress needs to not already be installed at the location migrating/restoring to. If WordPress is for some reason installed there already then that needs to be removed as importbuddy will install WordPress during the migration/restore.

Thanks,
-Akers

Welcome to the forums. Be sure to post your questions in the correct forum and don't forget about the new and improved search function located in the top right of the forum pages. The gear/wheel symbol next to the search box will give you more options for advanced searching. Thank you and have a nice day.PRAISE LORD HELIX